NZXT BLD Kit review: An easy way to build a gaming PC

Speaker 1: A lot of people think that building a PC is too complicated or that it's something for only serious enthusiasts, but NC X T wants to change all of that with their new build kits in all in one box that has everything that you need to build your very own PC, even if you've never done it before Speaker 1: PCs are often seen, as powerful devices made up of expensive and delicate [00:00:30] electronics. That's intimidating for a lot of people, but it's not as hard to build a PC, as you might think. What I find most intimidating is picking the right heart. There are literally an infinite number of configurations and components available, which is why PC building is so popular. It gives everyone a chance to build something unique. When N Z X T reached out to me with their build kit, I jumped at the opportunity to try it out. [00:01:00] You see, I've been a proponent of simplifying PC building to all my friends, family, and coworkers for a long time. And there are just so many positives to building your own PC long term, including value for money. Build kit is a mesh between product and service. Now N Z X T doesn't call it that. But I feel that it's just more than comp Ute hardware being sold. There are two hardware configurations or kits you can get their starter pro kit for 1399, [00:01:30] which includes an Intel I 5 11 400 F 16 gigs of Ram and an RTX 30, 60 ti. The other system that I have here with me is the streaming plus kit for 1599. This build is similar to the starter pro, but it has an AMD rise in 5 50, 600 X and a liquid cooler. Speaker 1: So here we are, I have the NZ X T build kit box. This is how it [00:02:00] arrived at my doorstep. This isn't actually much bigger than what you would get, uh, when you order a, a preassembled, uh, PC. Um, so why don't we get this open? I'm gonna slide it up this way and Speaker 1: Okay. Oh, wow. So is interesting. Okay. We have this nice little place mat kind of looking thing [00:02:30] that has all of our components labeled. So our motherboards a and Vme drive is D our GPU is J so that's really nice. Uh, a checklist use this checklist to track your progress throughout the that's nice. It has levels 1, 2, 3, all the way up to 12. And then this was actually what I was most excited about. NC XT had said that each build kit will come with an illustrated booklet. So just looking at this, oh, this is really detailed. You have some really nice illustrations [00:03:00] sort of just telling you how to assemble your PC. So level one, installing the memory, let's see what this looks like. And they even labeled Ram slots two and four. So you have the most optimal location for the Ram. It's a pretty dense book, too. Speaker 1: This is like a lot of reading material. This is nice. What else do we have in here? So it looks like our motherboard did not come in the original manufacturer's box, but instead [00:03:30] NC X T has put it in its own box and they have each item clearly labeled. So this is a, and again has got a little QR code in there. Our graphics card, our gigabytes RTX 30, 60 ti is definitely in the original box. They just seem to have added a sticker. It could have been open. I don't see a security sticker that smells new. [00:04:00] We have our NG X, D kit. So this is everything that we need to build the PC and then bag contains parts, B, C, D. And I so see what's in there. I, or the all in one cooler that N ZX T makes, and we have a conic power supply and 80 plus bronze, S 12, 3, 6 50 wat power supply. Speaker 1: Okay. And then finally [00:04:30] we have our case. Let me get all this packaging out the way. And this is the H five 10 case from N D X T again, labeled with the letter G the CPU seems to be in this box electrosensitive device, do not open or handle except with the static free workstation. So maybe I'll hold off on doing that, actually. No. And so in here we have our wifi card. We have our AMD CPU. We have our [00:05:00] Ram and lab, but not least we have our N V E SSD drive. So I think we have everything that we need to start building. I do want to jump in here. It wasn't until later that I realized that I was missing my rear IO shield for my motherboard and my mother board's manual. So there are some quality control issues. I did reach out to customer service via online chat, and they were able to ship me my missing component overnight. I asked N Z X T about this. And they [00:05:30] said, we will always do our best to make sure that the issue is corrected as quickly as possible. Speaker 1: I'm not gonna go over each step of the process. And I'll just speak generally out my experience, following the instructions closely, what really caught my attention is the quality of the book to elevate it above a simple set of a to Z instructions. There's a quest throughout the book. You are navigating through a temple finding various PC components, leading you [00:06:00] to the treasure chamber. Let me just read you this GPU passage. You've come into a large chamber with an ancient GPU hanging above the pathway. You will need to solve the ancient puzzle and properly seat the GPU, if you want to pursue you to the next room, but be very careful. The GPU appears to be very rare and valuable treasure. I mean, come on. That's really cute. You can't really knock that. Come on, but [00:06:30] it's not without its faults. There are some over modifications and generalizations that can trip up new. Speaker 1: The booklet does need to cater to different models and manufacturers of components. So I get it. But in one instance, the printed label on my motherboards cooling pump header didn't match the examples listed in the book. The labeling was different enough that I felt that I needed help to be sure that I would get it right the first time that's where NC X T's phone support [00:07:00] came in with a dedicated number for build kit. And you get to speak to a real person, no phone tree, no automated systems, just another human. After a short wait, the technician was able to pull up my order and using the information. He was able to identify my specific other board information. Once he knew where I was stuck, he gave me clear instructions using the label that was printed on the board in front of me. Speaker 2: You can use the trunk van [00:07:30] connection, which is located on the top right side of Speaker 1: Having this kind of help of phone call away is super clutch. It really is a game changer for those who might be hesitant to take on something this complex alone. If I hadn't built a PC before I would've had to call back for this cable management diagram, it's downright confusing and intimidating. I think the problem is the color coordinated labels for the cables. It just doesn't matter what you're seeing in [00:08:00] real life. When you're looking at an open PC, you just see an octopus of black cables rather than these bright colors in the booklet. Luckily you can just shove all those cables in the back of the PC with no downgrade in performance, and it's purely an aesthetic choice, but beginners might not know that the build kit also has a set of instructional videos that work in tandem with the booklet. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a QR code that links to a video for that specific step. There are also conveniently [00:08:30] place QR codes on each component's box. At the time of filming, only about half of the instructional videos were available. They are well produced with closeups of small details that the book illustrations might have missed. The videos do use some acronyms and language that only a seasoned PC builder would know. So I expect that first time builders are going to need to watch these videos two or three times. Speaker 1: One issue that I see arising [00:09:00] is the lack of instructions or handholding after powering on the machine, NC X T doesn't provide any guidance on bio settings, including X and P uh, without X and P enabled. It is likely that your Ram will operate at a lower speed than advertised. And that was the case with my build kit. The Ram in the system operated at 2,400 megahertz instead of the advertised 3,200 megahertz. I spoke with NC X T about this, and they said, it's something it's looking into addressing in future revisions. [00:09:30] We'll see how quickly NC X T is able to implement this. But it's good that at it's aware of the issue, build kit has already enabled NCX D's customers to build their own PCs. I feel that they should be also shown a bit of the advanced software side of the building experience as well. Speaker 1: Windows 10 does come pre-loaded with the N V E drive. And NCX T says that windows 11 build kits will arrive at a later date. I did check my PC and it is compatible with windows 11, and I can [00:10:00] upgrade it. Now, if I wanted to, it did take some work on enabling TPM 2.0 on it again, NC X T some bios introductions would be great for first timers. The good thing is, is that the booklet does link to a blog post where users are guided on how to download and the latest GPU and mother boy drivers. So that's a plus Speaker 1: Building your own desktop. PC is the satisfying experience and NT XTS build kit makes the process [00:10:30] mostly painless. The price is a bit higher than buying parts separately, but I did an almost identical build that is similarly specked at a big box store. That was way more expensive than the build kit buy a few hundred dollars. I do expect prices to fluctuate as retail struggle with supply chain issues. What you're getting is not just a functioning PC, but also the confidence and ability to the machine later on adding more Ram or [00:11:00] upgrading the GPU won't feel as daunting. I think that the build kit instructions are well put together the illustrations, keep the process fun for all ages and getting from a to B takes about two hours, give or take. And it's just as entertaining as doing a jigsaw or assembling a Lego kit. But at the end of it, you have a fully functioning PC for school work, or let's be honest gaming. If you're interested in checking out a build kit for [00:11:30] yourself, I've left a link in the description below. Thank you so much for watching. 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